about

“We all face difficulties in life, I want my art to remind people that incredibly rare events happen every day,

to appreciate the miracle of Life and to always have Hope. ”

— LBR

Artist Statement

My work starts as a mental fusion of Nature’s vast minerals and all varieties and phases of glass. Conceptually these materials are worked to reflect hope, healing and the underpinning thought that “Life is a gift!”  While this remains my primary aesthetic, I continue to explore other mediums.

I have spent the majority of my life learning and practicing my trade as a scientist and cancer surgeon.  However, my training left me unprepared for the emotional weight associated with healing cancer patients. To become the physician I wanted to be, I needed to come to work every day fully recharged.  Imagine sitting in front of a young mother, looking her in the eye, and saying “you have cancer.”  My Art is about what happens next.

Artist Biography

Working with glass fascinates Riley - “when the glass is molten it can be blown like gum, when warm it can be bent like putty and when cold, sculpted like marble.” Riley uses each of these phases of glass combined with its ability to reflect, refract, and bend light to create unique complex colorful works. 

Riley grew up in Houston Texas where his grandmother, a well-known artist*, instilled in him a passion for the arts. Unfortunately, she had lost a daughter at the age of nine to cancer. This event traumatized both his grandmother and his mother and ultimately led him to pursue a career as a cancer researcher and surgeon.

His advanced medical training prepared him for the technical portion of his profession; but not the emotional demands of his field.  And since his specialty was stage IV melanoma, where the majority of his patients rapidly expired, he soon realized that he needed to recharge emotionally from day to day.  Remembering his childhood roots, he turned to art.  Eventually, he found working with glass fulfilled his needs; not only was he recharged, but he quickly became passionate about glass art.

With no formal training in glass or art, Riley sought classes and workshops starting at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem PA.  It was his cold glass workshop with Martin Rosol at Corning Museum where he envisioned combining his interest in minerals with his glasswork.  There were no instructors for this, but with his background as a chemistry major, perseverance, and luck, he was able to succeed. 

In addition to “healing thyself,” Riley began incorporating art into his medical practice.  Initially, he donated his art to support numerous cancer fundraising events. He made 700 glass “pink ribbon” pendants for a local breast cancer race, and now he works with a resident artist at his medical office to help patients create glass pendants during their treatments.

His first gallery show was a successful solo event with regional artists, physicians, and patients attending - the majority of his work was sold.   With growing confidence in his skillset and creativity, he began expanding his work to include other mediums, but almost always with glass!

* https://www.askart.com/artist/Evelyne_Byers_Bessell/100573/Evelyne_Byers_Bessell.aspx

In the beginning…

• I started collecting minerals and crystals when I was young. I can't say why, I didn't think they had mystical properties - but they were inspiring and wonderful creations. Where did they come from? See below.

• I grew up at NASA in the early 60's: everyone I knew worked at NASA. I learned springboard diving from the astronaut Scott Carpenter. The community swimming pool was shaped like a space capsule. In seventh grade I was trying to learn calculus and wanted to be an astrophysicist.

• I got sidetracked, I learned in college that mice could be immunized against cancer. My mother's sister had died of cancer when she was a child - we never spoke of it, but it impacted all of us. My two sisters became nurses. I became an MD/PhD. My PhD thesis was on cancer and the immune system.

• As a cancer surgeon I treat a lot of patients - most do well but for some, their cancer is too advanced for a surgical cure... I started doing art: it helps me recharge.

• During my career I learned a great deal, some of it is still true. I learned that the immune system occasionally eradicates cancer that was otherwise unbeatable. I am often impressed by my patients; they show such strength and hope despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Hope gives them a cause and a greater quality of life.

• I can't fathom what the chances of a crystal forming are - close to one out of infinity. But crystals are real - they are sitting on my desk at work, in my home and now in my art. Crystals and minerals validate Hope. Apart from their amazing visual properties, their reality reminds me that Hope is real.

• My artistic path gelled when I took a class at Corning Museum in glass sculpting (cold-working) with Marin Rosol and Pavel Novak. My challenge was to use crystal glass to bring out the beauty of Nature's minerals. I went home inspired, made some space in the basement and started experimenting - looking back, it was a blend of my research training and my need for creative expression.